The field of endeavor related to dilation of nasal passages and adjacent tissue using over the nose-type dilator devices has a short and active history. One active participant and innovator in this field is the owner of this patent disclosure, CNS, Inc. of Eden Prairie, MN (CNS). Recently, CNS has introduced nasal dilators for human and equine use to dilate nasal passageways in an attempt to ease respiration and increase volumetric flow during respiration, among other things. These prior art dilator devices are typically packaged for single use only and no accompanying materials or devices are included in any packaging delivered in conjunction with the dilator devices. Representative U.S. patents disclosing prior art nasal dilators include U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,606; 6,318,362; 6,065,470; and 5,533,499, each patent being incorporated by reference herein.
Historically, nasal dilators have been packaged in individual packages that must be opened so the user can apply the dilator. These individual packages are oftentimes packaged as a set in a single package or box so the user must typically open the box, extract a single dilator package, open the dilator package and apply the dilator. This prior art packaging adds cost, is cumbersome and increases the difficulty of applying a dilator for the average user. Often, the dilator devices were merely placed inside a pasteboard box having adhesive bonds for structural integrity.
The prior art packaging of over the nose dilator devices inhibits a user from quickly obtaining a dilator device and thus likely decreases the frequency of use of dilator devices by the user. Furthermore, if a user wants to carry a single dilator device in most cases a single unit is not protected and will degrade from casual contact, even if unopened. Thus, an increased likelihood of damage to the dilator arises such that the dilator may be damaged and unusable. Then, if a user has a momentary desire to temporarily increase respiration through their nasal passages, such as when dining, drinking, exercising, sleeping, resting or the like, the prior art packaging mechanisms do not support such uses.
Prior art dispensing apparatus for elongate objects such as labels, chewing gum in stick form, adhesive bandages, business cards and the like have long been known and used in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,904 issued to Jones on Mar. 12, 1996 disclose a improved gum label dispenser in which a portable waist mounted adapted to carry a roll of gum label. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,353,956; 4,465,208; 5,056,683 and 5,649,642 each disclose improved chewing gum dispensers in which a single stick of chewing gum is manually ejected from a rectangular container. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,653,666; 4,872,593; 5,271,522; 5,358,140; 5,782,786 and 5,939,161 each disclose an apparatus for dispensing adhesive bandages and the like. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,050,449; 6,240,989; and 6,267,264 each disclose an apparatus adapted for dispensing business cards. Each of these prior art patents are incorporated by reference herein. None of these prior art approaches for dispensing single articles appears to solve issues unique to the storage and use of dilator devices.
Thus a need exists in the art for a compact, portable, protective dilator dispenser so that a user may readily access and apply a dilator device at any time. A need exists in the art for a dispenser that physically guards nasal dilator devices from damage prior to use. A need exists in the art for a combined dispenser and mounting aid so that a nasal dilator may be quickly, easily and accurately applied by a user.